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1662] attempt on this sea-girt rock. Hopeless of relief from Bijapur, the Siddi begged for terms from Raghunath and formally ceded Danda-Rajpuri. Thus, no strong- hold was left to the Siddi on the mainland. (Sabh. 67; Chit. 66.)

But this peace could not possibly last long. To the Siddi the loss of the Kolaba territory meant starvation, and, on the other hand, it was Shiva's "lifelong ambition to capture Janjira" and make his hold on the west coast absolutely secure. Hostilities soon broke out again. The Siddis resumed their depredations on the coast, while Shiva battered Janjira every year during the dry season, but without success.

The Maratha gains on the Kolaba coast were now organised into a province, and placed under an able viceroy, Vyankoji Datto, with a permanent contingent of 5 to 7 thousand men (Sabh. 68.) He defeated the Siddis in a great land-battle, totally excluded them from the mainland, improved the defences of Danda-Rajpuri by fortifying a hill that commanded it, and built a chain of forts (such as Birwadi and Lingana) which effectually prevented Siddi depredations in that quarter. At this the Siddis, in order to "fill their stomachs," had to direct their piracy against the villages and ports further south, in the Ratnagiri district, which had now come under Shiva's sway. The Maratha chief, therefore, resolved to create « navy for the protection of his coast and